Pham Nhat Vuong (Vietnam)
Pham Nhat Vuong, 57, chairman of conglomerate Vingroup, is the richest man in Southeast Asia with a net worth of $35 billion as of June 26, according to Forbes.
He ranks 60th globally and is the only person in Southeast Asia to be listed among the 100 richest people in the world.
Shares of Vingroup has quadrupled year-on-year amid high hopes that its associated companies would develop major infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail lines, and the rapid expansion of electric vehicle maker VinFast.
The automaker delivered 58,600 cars in the first quarter, up 61% year-on-year, with 8% sold in international markets.
Vuong started his career with an instant noodle business in Ukraine in the 1990s. He then returned to Vietnam and founded Vingroup, turning it into a conglomerate with interests in real estate, retail, healthcare, electric car production, and infrastructure, among others.
From L: Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group; Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vingroup; Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Development; Enrique Razon Jr., chairman of the International Container Terminal Services; Jason Chang, chairman of ASE Technology Holding. Graphic by VnExpress/Dat Nguyen. Photos by VnExpress, ASE Group, Gulf Development, Reuters, U.S. Embassy in the Philippines |
Jason Chang (Singapore)
Jason Chang, 82, chairman of Taiwan-based ASE Technology Holding, ranks second in the region with $21.1 billion in wealth. ASE shares have jumped 131% year-to-date, driven by increasing demand for AI chips.
Chang was born in May 1944 in Shanghai, China, but grew up in Taiwan and studied electronic engineering at National Taiwan University, before earning a Master of Science in industrial engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1984, Chang persuaded his mother, Chang Yao Hung-Ying, a businesswoman in the real estate development sector, to invest in the semiconductor industry, leading to the founding of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering with his younger brother, Richard Chang.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering was listed in Taiwan in 1989 and in New York in 2000. In 2018, it acquired fellow Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer Siliconware Precision. Both firms were subsequently delisted, and their holding entity, ASE Technology Holding, began trading in Taiwan and New York.
Enrique Razon Jr. (Philippines)
The third richest man with a net worth of $20 billion in Southeast Asia is Enrique Razon Jr., 66, chairman of the International Container Terminal Services Inc., the Philippines’ largest port operator by revenue with subsidiaries in the Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Razon’s grandfather founded the family business with a port in Manila in 1916, and his father rebuilt it after World War II. Razon later expanded the business internationally.
His hospitality company, Bloomberry Resorts, has grown its operations in the Philippines, opening a second Solaire casino complex in Metro Manila in 2024.
Razon has also been increasing his infrastructure investments. In 2024, he bought out Ayala Corp. and took control of Manila Water.
He also has interests in offshore gas fields in the West Philippine Sea. In 2025, he acquired a 60% stake in four gas-fired power plants that were formerly controlled by the Lopez Group.
Sarath Ratanavadi (Thailand)
Sarath Ratanavadi, 60, CEO of Gulf Development, owns the fourth largest fortune in the region at $17.9 billion.
He heads one of the largest conglomerates in Thailand with interests in telecommunications and digital infrastructure.
Gulf Development was established in 2025 through the merger of power producer Gulf Energy Development and telecom giant InTouch Holdings, the largest shareholder of Advanced Info Service, or AIS.
In 2024, Gulf Energy’s joint venture with Binance launched a cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand.
Gulf bought a stake in Kasikornbank in May 2025 and continued increasing its holdings, becoming the second-largest shareholder of Thailand’s third-largest bank by assets.
Dhanin Chearavanont (Thailand)
In the fifth place is Dhanin Chearavanont, 87, senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, with a net worth of $17.6 billion. His company is one of the world’s largest producers of animal feed and livestock.
He is the son of Chia Ek Chor, who, together with his brother Choncharoen Chiaravanont, opened a shop selling seeds imported from China in 1921.
In 2017, after 48 years as chairman and CEO, Dhanin appointed his eldest son, Soopakij, and youngest son, Suphachai, as CP’s chairman and CEO, respectively.
In 2025, a unit of the group’s telecom arm True secured one of three digital banking licenses issued by the government. True also partnered with BlackRock on a $1 billion data center venture.
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